Aman Batheja

Aman Batheja
worked for eight years at the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, most of that time covering state and local politics. A native of Cedarhurst, New York, he has an undergraduate degree in journalism and psychology from New York University and a master's in economics from the University of Texas at Arlington.

Following an emotional floor debate, the Senate passed a resolution Wednesday reaffirming the state's opposition to same-sex marriage, an action taken as it became clear a bill to prevent such marriages in Texas was dead.

Top House and Senate negotiators sealed up the final unresolved issues on a two-year budget deal on Thursday evening, including removing controversial language that would have killed a proposed Dallas-Houston bullet train.

The House and Senate stepped closer to a final deal on a two-year budget Wednesday evening, settling dozens of differences between the two chambers including funding for public education and border security.

When the Texas Senate changed requirements on bringing legislation up for debate, Democrats said a process intended to encourage compromise would suffer. Several bills have been unblocked, but the conservative steamroller that Democrats feared hasn't emerged.